What is Voice?

Have you ever been emailing (or texting) back and forth with someone for a while, and then you finally talk on the phone? 

I bet one of two things happened: 1) you hit it off easily and quickly, feeling like the conversation moved seamlessly from written communication to verbal, or 2) you stumbled and tripped when first talking because the person on the other end wasn’t at all who you’d imagined through writing. 

Voice on paper (or screen) ideally should match voice in real life. In the second scenario, the person’s voice on paper didn’t match real life, and this probably caused confusion and maybe even hesitation moving forward. It’s a lot like a heavily photoshopped picture. It can be alarming to realize what you’d been getting wasn’t reality. 

In the first scenario, however, there was no hesitation because the written voice matched real life. 

Writing how you speak is an important part of establishing a solid brand voice. With practice, this can become second nature. 

Why you should be your own content writer first

In the beginning, writing your own content (remember: that includes blog posts, newsletters, the pages of your website, brochures, etc.) can help you define and refine how your company speaks to its clients. It allows you to set the framework for future business communications. 

No one knows your business (or your clients) like you do. As you start up your business, it’s difficult, but good, to have your hand in every aspect of it. This includes voice branding. 

There’s a good chance – as a small business startup – that you are your business. Well I ask you this: who better to write in your voice’s likeness than yourself? 

I realize not everyone is a word nerd like me. But this business is your baby, and how you communicate to your audience matters. You want to start off on the right foot…and right away. The smoothest way to do this is [*drumroll please*] yourself. (Little Red Hen anyone?)

That may not be what you want to hear, I realize. There’s already plenty on your plate when starting a business. But this is one area where you’re the expert naturally. 

Still not sure? How about a quick little exercise?

Two easy steps to help you establish your brand voice

Even if you’re already fully committed to handing off the writing responsibilities to someone else, you’ll still want to take time to do these next two exercises. They are fundamental to a consistent brand voice. 

1. Identify your Ideal Client…down to the tiniest detail –

When writing (whether content or copy), it helps to picture one singular person…every time. The more you know this person (either real or imaginary), the better. Writing every word to this person helps maintain a clear, consistent voice.

Stay tuned: in my next post I’ll give you tools and prompts to flesh this out as much as possible. 

2. Identify phrases + words you frequently use when talking to clients –

The more consistent your voice is throughout all your writing, the better. Your readers should hear you through the words on the pages. 

Writing down catchphrases that you (and your clients) use helps get you in the right mindset for writing to your ideal client. Do you refer to people as “guys”? “Friends”? “Ladies”? “Hey there!”? If you say it in real life, then say it on the page. 

It can be helpful to ask people close to you if there are words or phrases that you use (…overuse? 🤷🏽‍♀️) all the time. If your clients hear you saying it in real life, they [subconsciously] want to hear you saying it in writing too. 

Reading your writing out loud can help you determine how “you” your writing really sounds. 

In a post to come, I’ll give you more tools and prompts to help you brainstorm through this crucial step in establishing your brand’s voice. 

Your voice is where these two steps meet.

Your brand’s voice is a marriage between who you are and how you sound + who your client is and how she sounds. It’s a beautiful recipe for writing consistently.

Your business’ writing is really nothing more than a projection of how you do business. You conduct business in a way that matches your personality, and meets your clients’ needs. 

Getting this down matters. Thankfully, this can be done relatively easily, thus quickly setting you on the path to actually do the work that you’ve been dreaming about.